Being healthy means more than simply not suffering from a disease. A person’s health is a matter of their physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being. Disability is not equivalent to poor health, and therefore health disparities are frequently not related to an individual’s disability at all. Instead, people with ID suffer from health disparities because they face many obstacles when they try to get the quality health care they need. These barriers include:

Lack of accessible information about healthy habits, or not enough help in navigating of health care systems and insurance plans

The cost of attending regular medical checkups and following up with a health provider on any risks identified during a checkup

Lack of health plan benefits and other insurance-related obstacles to high-quality care and choosing the right provider

Lack of communication training for health professionals, making interactions with people with ID difficult

Too much emphasis on someone’s disability in their health care, leading health professionals to skip routine screenings for common diseases or preventable health issues

Discrimination and stigma associated with disability

Problems with insurance coverage contribute to health disparities. People with ID who have public insurance plans such as Medicaid face particularly poor health outcomes. Forty percent of people with significant disabilities who have public insurance plans report that they do not have a regular physician. 65% need at least one medication they cannot afford on their own. 45% report that they are not satisfied with how their care is provided— 40% actually rate the quality of their care as only fair or poor. 72% of people with significant disabilities who have public insurance plans say that they had had an unmet medical need in the past year.[5] Because one-third of people with ID who are covered by Medicaid report that they are on a waiting list for health services, unmet needs are frequently left unaddressed for long periods of time. Many people with ID who have Medicaid coverage have to wait more than five years. The Arc estimates that there are more than one million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities waiting for services that may never come.[6]

Many people with ID suffer from health disparities that can easily be treated or prevented. People with ID have problems with their teeth, eyes, and ears, and many do not eat well and do not get regular exercise. While people with disabilities commonly use health care services more than the general population, people with disabilities use preventive services such as routine teeth cleanings, eye and ear exams, and breathing tests less often. This helps explain why people with disabilities experience a higher rate of preventable conditions.[7]